Counterfeit Hero

When the rocket-propelled grenade smashed into the second-floor window of the Tai Sect Puluo Branch, causing a violent explosion, dozens of Bullfighter mercenaries hidden among the crowd began their assault on the Puluo Branch.

Due to the control of the Human Supreme Council and the weapon embargo from various countries on the Free World, at this moment, the sudden eruption was the deafening rapid fire of old-fashioned automatic rifles.

Gunpowder technology had not disappeared with the emergence of energy weapons; in the Free World, they still played the role of executioners. Although such weapons had limited destructive power against super-hard alloy armor, for ordinary flesh and blood, they were more than sufficient.

The piercing sound of explosions, flying metal bullets, pervasive gunpowder smoke, and dazzling white light instantly surrounded the entire Tai Sect Mecha Branch.

As the three elders at the entrance were swiftly dragged into the Mechanical Armor Hall by quick-reacting disciples, the dense swarm of unidentified attackers had already crossed the street, leaping out from the greenery, shooting and swiftly approaching from all directions.

With another rocket-propelled grenade landing at the entrance, causing an earth-shattering explosion, further away, several unmarked modified mechas came into view. Unlike ordinary Private Mechas, these modified mechas were equipped with old-fashioned machine cannons. It was evident that these were meant for slaughtering unarmored personnel.

”The Absolute Kill Stream is not to be trifled with!”

Journalists, carrying cameras and risking their lives, stood at their filming positions, frantically adjusting the camera shots. The chaotic mecha duels on First Avenue and the current attack on the Tai Sect Puluo Branch by unidentified assailants left them overwhelmed.

No one understood the intricacies within. All the filmed and real-time broadcast footage indicated one fact—the tradition of Free Port had been broken. The Tai Sect’s attack on Hariman and the Absolute Kill Stream’s assault on the Tai Sect Branch were both so brazen.

This would be a war!

Amidst the intense gunfire and artillery sound, First Avenue was already in chaos.

The clashing mechas emitted earth-shaking crashes as one after another were flung away, colliding into nearby buildings, shattering curtain wall glass like a torrential downpour. More than a dozen mechas had been destroyed in the conflict, reduced to smoking, flaming scrap metal along the roadside.

Among towering buildings, the explosion’s flares flickered, and raging fires swept across several malls, beginning to spread to the upper floors of a few high-rises. Panic-stricken people scattered like ants in a flood. Some trapped upstairs began leaping down desperately.

The Flying Cars parked along First Avenue mostly had become wreckage, and the few that survived triggered their alarm systems due to the violent vibrations. The originally urgent and piercing alarms sounded weak and helpless among the intense gunfire, explosion, and mecha collision sounds. Only the car lights, frantically flashing, remained to draw people’s attention.

In the Tai Sect Branch, the room hit by the rocket-propelled grenade had caught fire. Flames licked wildly through the windows, consuming everything in their path. Thick, billowing smoke rolled out of the windows, swept skyward by a slight breeze, obscuring the sky.

Kubo and Nakagawa Daiki’s Flying Car stopped at a distance where they could see the Puluo Branch. After the attack began, according to plan, Kubo should have left Central City to remotely command from the Bullfighter Mercenary Group’s secret base at Infantry Port until everything settled.

The only reason they remained here was to wait for a message—Kubo needed to be certain of one person’s death!

No matter what the future held in this struggle for the highest authority in Free Port, Kubo’s mood at this moment was joyous.

When the rocket-propelled grenade flew into that window, a weight was finally lifted from his heart.

Absolute Kill Stream or Mountain Breaker Sect—it didn’t matter. Kubo had dealt with every faction in every airspace of the Mars Free Channel his entire life. Though he had no guaranteed victory against these old rivals, he wasn’t afraid of them. He understood these people and organizations.

It was only the Fatty from Phantom Stream who was Kubo’s nightmare.

These days, Kubo had experienced a sense of psychological control, a feeling of victimhood.

He felt like a pitiful fool being extorted and blackmailed, utterly losing control over his world. He could only watch as that Fatty caused chaos without having any ability to counter. Being forward-thinking but then cautious, that helpless frustration drove him mad.

Now, everything was over!

As long as that Fatty and the three elders died, not only would he have removed the thorn in his side and resolved the Tai Sect’s internal division, but he also framed the Absolute Kill Stream! Even if the Absolute Kill Stream tried to defend and investigate, their suspicions would only fall on the seemingly benefitting Mountain Breaker Sect.

Kubo stared intensely at the car communicator, waiting for the final confirmation.

Tian Xingjian threw himself on Helen.

The rocket-propelled grenade hit the ceiling, resulting in a violent explosion that scattered shrapnel everywhere. The sparks from the ceiling’s decorative materials ignited the bedclothes and thick carpet. The entire bedroom was transformed in an instant. The wardrobe and dressing table were toppled, and broken fabric scraps flew everywhere amid the dense smoke.